Roosevelt University president's pay ranks No. 5 nationally

Much of the 2012 compensation for Roosevelt University President Charles Middleton, center, came in the form of a retention bonus. Middleton has been president since 2002.

Much of the 2012 compensation for Roosevelt University President Charles Middleton, center, came in the form of a retention bonus. Middleton has been president since 2002. (TERRENCE ANTONIO JAMES, CHICAGO TRIBUNE)

The president of Chicago-based Roosevelt University was paid nearly $1.8 million in 2012, making him the fifth highest-paid private university president in the country that year, according to an annual survey of college presidents' compensation.

The Chronicle of Higher Education's annual study found that Roosevelt President Charles "Chuck" Middleton was among three dozen private college presidents who earned more than $1 million in 2012, though the average salary was about $400,000.

The survey analyzes data from federal tax documents, and 2012 is the most recent year available. Middleton's large salary boost in 2012 was due mostly to a retention bonus that had come due that year after a decade in the job. That payment made up about 67 percent of his compensation.

Roosevelt University spokesman Tom Karow declined to disclose Middleton's salary from the two most recent years. Middleton, 70, was appointed president in 2002 and is expected to retire in June. The university has two campuses, in Chicago's Loop and in northwest suburban Schaumburg.

In a statement, Roosevelt board Chairman James Mitchell III said Middleton's compensation "reflects his long and transformational leadership."

"His compensation package, like that of many other university presidents, was structured so that Roosevelt could retain his knowledge and experience and he could be rewarded for meeting performance goals," Mitchell said in a statement.

However, the university declined to provide details on Middleton's contract or his performance goals. "Roosevelt does not comment on personnel matters," Karow said.

Retention bonuses have become a common perk in university presidents' contracts, provided as an incentive for leaders to remain at an institution. The money is invested tax-free until it's paid, and can be forfeited if the person leaves before a certain date.

Middleton's salary boost is not due entirely to deferred payments, however. His base salary has risen dramatically in the past five years, up nearly 50 percent since 2008, when it was $315,668.

Middleton's compensation in 2012 breaks down like this: $465,928 in base salary; $1,183,443 in bonus pay; $22,161 in nontaxable benefits; and $91,424 in other earnings. He also received another $65,600 that was set aside for the future.

Founded in 1945 on the principles of social justice, Roosevelt University was named after President Franklin Roosevelt. Its main campus is on Michigan Avenue at Congress Parkway; Middleton announced earlier this year that many of the suburban programs will be eliminated because of budget concerns.

In a statement, Roosevelt detailed some of Middleton's accomplishments during his tenure, saying he "changed Roosevelt from a university which primarily served older, part-time students to one where the majority of undergraduate students are traditional age and full-time."

The increase in younger, more traditional college students is reflected in the building of the university's sleek new high-rise, the 32-story Wabash Building. It is the country's second-tallest academic facility, opened in 2012 at a cost of $123 million. It created a vertical campus for Roosevelt, complete with classrooms, laboratories, housing, a dining hall and recreation spaces.

Men's intercollegiate athletics returned to the university after 22 years, and women's sports were introduced for the first time. Under Middleton's watch, the university created many new academic programs, most notably a College of Pharmacy.

"President Middleton's retirement next year will mean a large loss to our University and to the many successful civic efforts he has led for Roosevelt," Mitchell said in a statement.

The news about the Roosevelt president's compensation comes at a time of financial uncertainty for the institution.

In 2012, when Middleton's earnings reached $1.8 million, the university ended the year with a $3.3 million deficit. That's after the university finished 2011 with a $5.5 million surplus.

According to a March report by Moody's Investors Service, Roosevelt "is challenged by a very high debt load," due to the financing of its new high rise.

And earlier this year, Middleton said the university would eliminate virtually all of the programs at its Schaumburg campus because it had "overcommitted" resources to that campus, where enrollment has been declining for a decade. Students already enrolled will be able to finish their programs. The popular pharmacy program is expected to remain.

There has been concern over student enrollment declines at the university. According to Moody's, the number of full-time-equivalent students fell to 5,114 in fall 2013, from 5,817 students in fall 2009. Roosevelt's spokesman declined to provide the comparable figure for this fall.

Karow said, however, that the number of full-time students was up this fall, to 4,073, a record number and representing nearly 67 percent of the overall student body. He also said the university had a record-size freshman class with 600 students, up 40 percent from last fall.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education compensation survey, the second-highest-paid local president was Robert Zimmer at the University of Chicago, who received nearly $1.4 million in 2012, ranking No. 11 among his peers. That's down from his $3.4 million earnings in 2011, when he was the highest-paid private university president in the country. A large share of those earnings were from deferred compensation that had come due that year.

The country's highest-paid private university president in 2012 was Shirley Ann Jackson of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., at $7.1 million — most of it from a retention bonus. Other top earners were John Lahey of Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, at $3.8 million; Columbia University President Lee Bollinger, at about $3.4 million; and University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann, at about $2.5 million.